I knew an old guy who said during WW2 he joined the army and went to Africa. What was he doing there? (I didn’t know him very well and he’s probably dead now so I can’t ask him directly). Was there any war related stuff going on in Africa?
A lot. The entire continent was colonized by European powers at that point, mostly by England and France. So you have Germany and Italy trying to take more, meanwhile the ANZACs and North Americans are in there trying to take the lower Mediterranean, which will serve as a staging ground for the invasion of Italy.
In the US we largely focus on D-Day and the war in the pacific.
If you have 20 minutes, you can watch the entire World War 2 on YouTube.
Neat. Thanks for the link!
North Africa was essentially a third front. I think Italy was already in the process of invading Ethiopia in the late 30s, and tried to expand in Libya and Egypt during the war.
Also, Rommel was the well known Nazi general who was in charge of North Africa
The nazis used the sphynx for target practice. Egypt is part of the African continent.
The nazis used the sphynx for target practice.
The Sphinx was damaged hundreds of years before WW2. Not sure where this bullshit comes from.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_campaign
And the SAS (and with it modern special tactics) were invented in Africa
AmericanPeople like to think that they’re were only fighting in Europe and some in Pacific Island. They forgot that of all the nations that were fighting China lost the most menI knew there was fighting in north africa. (American here) But not sure how I knew. I don’t recall hearing much about it in school. But fighting china? I gotta say, I never heard much about china other than how badly the Japanese soldiers treated the chinese.
US education about WW2 is mostly bullshit.
Badly is not the right term, it was fucking hell
My grandpa was in North Africa before getting moved around to England for D-day. Allies wanted to swoop up through the Mediterranean but were halted. I tenderness hearing about gramps catching malaria down there but recovered. He later went to the China Burma India theater (CBI) training the local groups to fight Japan. I have a couple handkerchiefs that they carried around with a series of translations they could show to people on the street. Definitely a lot of other things happening outside of Europe!
The Allies were securing the North African territories (from Italy and Vichy France) and defending their own territories from being taken by the Axis powers (like British-controlled Egypt). Once the Allies had kicked the Axis out of North Africa, they could more easily land in southern Italy!
As somebody else have said, there was also conflict between Ethiopia and Italy.
Alongside the north Africa campaign someone else posted there was also combat in west Africa pushing the Italians out of Ethiopia and Somalia. There was also fighting to take control back from Vichy France’s colonial holdings with the main one coming to mind being the invasion of Madagascar in 1942.
Minor correction… Ethiopian and Somalia are in eastern Africa on or near the Horn.
I thought the horn was the southern tip of Africa. If it’s that eastern thing, what is the southern tip?
Cape of Good Hope (Capetown)? That’s obviously there, but that’s the item I remember form school in regards to global sail routes
I only know about this because of Paradox grand strategy games
It was still colonial, so, using violence to extract resources from locals.
France used West Africans to do a lot of the fighting then massacred a bunch of veterans who wanted payment afterwards.
. . . while also fighting the colonials on the other side of the war to control regional resource extraction.
Not much, just Ras Tafari fighting the babylon system (by allying with it).
My father’s battalion spent most of their time in North Africa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_Battalion_(New_Zealand)
The African campaign was hugely important for england as it had parts of its empire there, it was huge for the US as it was basically a pre-season game leading to the invasion of Europe.
It was hugely important for the Italians as their incompetent asses tried to do a land grab. Got the shit beat out of them by the brits.
It was hugely important for the Germans as they had to save their only substantial alley’s worthless ass
This is from google.
The North African Campaign (June 1940 – May 1943) was a crucial WWII theater, pitting Allied forces against Axis powers for control of Egypt, the Suez Canal, and North Africa. Key moments included the British victory in 1940-41, Rommel’s arrival leading to intense, shifting battles in 1941-42, and the decisive Allied victory at El Alamein, ending with Axis surrender in Tunisia.
Key Events Timeline (1940-1943)
1940: The War Begins in Africa
- 10 June 1940: Italy declares war on Britain and France, launching the campaign.
- 13 September 1940: Italian forces invade Egypt from Libya.
- December 1940: British forces launch Operation Compass, pushing Italians back and taking large numbers of prisoners.
1941: Rommel and the Desert War
- February 1941: German General Erwin Rommel arrives in Tripoli to lead the German Afrika Korps to support the failing Italian army.
- March-April 1941: Rommel launches an offensive, driving British forces back.
- April 1941: The Siege of Tobruk begins.
- November 1941: British launch Operation Crusader, eventually lifting the siege of Tobruk.
1942: The Turning Point
- June 1942: Rommel wins a major victory at Gazala and captures Tobruk.
- July 1942: First Battle of El Alamein halts the Axis advance into Egypt.
- 23 October – 11 November 1942: Second Battle of El Alamein: Allied forces under Bernard Montgomery decisively defeat the Axis forces.
- 8–16 November 1942: Operation Torch: U.S. and British forces land in French Morocco and Algeria, putting pressure on the Axis from
1943: End of the African Campaign
- February 1943: Rommel’s forces are pushed back into Tunisia, marking his last offensive in Africa.
- 6-7 May 1943: Allied forces take Tunis and Bizerte.
- 13 May 1943: Axis forces in North Africa surrender, marking the end of the campaign
Key Figures
- Allied Commanders: Bernard Montgomery (Eighth Army), Dwight D. Eisenhower (Operation Torch), Claude Auchinleck.
- Axis Commanders: Erwin Rommel (Afrika Korps), Italo Gariboldi
Just chillin’.
